Kathy’s Law Passed – Restraining Orders to be Strengthened with GPS Tracking

San Diego’s state assembly committee has passed a bill that would place GPS tracking devices on domestic violence offenders. The bill is named for Kathy Scharbarth, who was strangled outside her home last year by an ex-boyfriend a few days after she obtained a restraining order against him. Had the restraining order been enforced and monitored via a GPS tracker, Kathy would still be alive today. This bill also orders the tracked offender to pay all GPS service fees.

After hearing that his 10-year-old autistic son was acting up and hitting the teachers in school, a concerned New Jersey father decided to find out what was really going on using a hidden audio recorder. He discovered that the teacher and her aides were bullying and making fun of the boy, even calling the 10-year-old a “bastard” to his face. The father quickly brought this recording to the school’s attention, which fired at least one of the teacher’s aides and relocated the teacher to another school in the Cherry Hill School District.

After ransacking a California woman’s car, a thief and his accomplice targeted the woman’s home using her garage door opener and got away with $15,000 worth of valuables. However, the victim’s nanny camera recorded the entire break-in, clearly identifying the two thieves.

This week we have two cases of nursing home abuse, both of which were captured by hidden cameras. In an Oklahoma City case, two nursing home workers manhandled and abused a 92-year-old woman and were recorded stuffing latex gloves into her mouth. The two workers were fired and turned over to the police where they were charged with neglect by caretaker.

In a North London case, five workers were recorded abusing a 78-year-old woman. A man who was recorded slapping the elderly woman’s face and thighs was arrested and is now serving 18 months in prison. His four female accomplices were fired.

Australia is looking into a GPS tracking initiative to monitor violent and lower-level offenders (such as those in mandated alcohol-exclusion programs) to ensure they stay out of certain premises, including bars, designated clubs, and other “no-go” zones. The Australian government is debating the initiative. To date, GPS has been used primarily to monitor serious sex offenders, convicted arsonists and suspects released on bail.